Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20:

When people think about the Auxiliary and the missions we support, normally marine incidents come to mind.  Typically a vessel calls in a distress call on Channel 16 and depending on the location and severity of the incident Victoria Coast Guard Radio will page our crew.  When we attend these incidents it is commonly in association with the Coast Guard from Ganges or with other Auxiliaries.
There is however a whole other set of missions that are inter-agency and not primarily marine.  A prime example was the tragic floatplane crash at Saturna Island where it is likely that a 911 call was made that resulted in the Saturna Fire Search and Rescue (SF&R) being called out as well as the Coast Guard and the Auxiliary.  Once the two survivors were taken to shore the highly trained paramedics from Saturna FS&R took over.
A similar inter-agency mission took place when a youth fell down a small cliff near Fiddlers Cove on Saturna Island.  This was essentially a land-based incident but the easiest access was from the water and we arrived on scene first.  Shortly thereafter the Saturna F&R arrived by scrambling down a steep treacherous trail to the shore.
 Another inter-agency mission was in response to an elderly hiker that did not return home when expected.  In that case your Auxiliary conducted shoreline searches directed by the Pender Search and Rescue team.  Search and Rescue did not know if the hiker may have fallen down a cliff near the water or was trapped on the shore by a rising tide.  Fortunately she was safely found on a trail inland.
Recently the Auxiliary attended a meeting at Saturna Island with Saturna FS&R to review the floatplane incident and to determine how we can improve coordination of inter-agency missions.  At the time of the floatplane incident last November it was difficult for the various agencies to communicate with each other as each of them uses different radio frequencies.  Saturna SF&R has rectified this as they now have some radios that have the Coast Guard channels.  A number of other ideas were considered which should result in more effective interagency missions in the future.